Lait tried to play despite the pain. "He pitched three games, literally off one leg," Brady said. "No one knew how much pain he was in."

On April 13, Lait learned he had cancer.

He was diagnosed with high grade osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone that most often affects teenagers.

Lait's cancer is in the tibia, just below the knee. He was admitted to Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara on April 18. A CT scan and a bone scan both showed the cancer had not spread. He received his first chemotherapy treatment Sunday. Throughout the ordeal, Brady has marveled at Lait's composure.

"On a Friday he got the news," Brady said. "Sunday was my first contact with him. He sends me a text: 'Coach, you probably heard I have bone cancer, so I won't be at the game Monday. Don't treat me any different. I don't want the guys to know yet.'

"We had a game Monday night against South City. He has a 4 p.m. appointment to decide what treatment plan to follow. He comes into my office fifth period and tells me he's ready for the team to know.

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"So I tell them. It's like dropping a bomb.

"Before the game, the South City coach (Daryl Semien) asks me why David was on crutches the previous week. So I tell him. He hugged me, told me to let him know if there's anything I need.

"Before the first pitch our team meets out along the right-field line. We have all kinds of kids on our team -- Buddhists, Catholics, kids of (no religious affiliation). I told them let's take a moment. I look over my shoulder and here comes the entire South City team, jogging to join us. It was beautiful, the stark contrast in the colors of the uniforms, close to 40 people all on a knee. After we had a moment of silence, I just said, 'Let's all be cognizant of how fortunate we are to play baseball.'"

Then the teams went out and competed and Westmoor got its first league win, 4-2.

On Tuesday, Lait was back in the dugout for the Aragon game, doing the scorebook.

On Wednesday, he was admitted into the hospital. The treatment plan is to administer chemotherapy for three months and then do surgery to replace the knee and tibia. Initially, it was feared that the leg would have to be amputated.

"I talked to him after he was admitted and he was stoked,'' Brady said. "He says, 'I don't have to lose my leg, that's so cool. I'm comfortable here, got a flat screen, watching the Giants game. I'm on Facebook. It's like I've got my own apartment.'"